Muggle
by BoyFlea
Summary: Hogwarts from a muggle point of view.
1. Momento

Momento.

The sun was setting. The heavens blazed their summer colours.

"It does not always rain at funerals," thought Darren. A smile split his face and he returned to his parent's garden, or rather his mother's garden now.

Darren was staying the night, having come up from London. His mother smiled as everyone said goodbye.

"Well, we'll clean up in the morning," she smiled. Darren's father had been ill for some time, and so his mother had been quite prepared and practical about the whole affair. "Goodnight Darren," she sighed. Darren thought he heard his mother muttering as he got into the bedroom before closing his door.

The room was full of ring-binders and boxes. Paper stacks and maps grew from the fetid boxes in the corners of the room. Dad had always been a bit of a historian, but in the last few years he had begun going out into the countryside and studying the ruins and burial mounds, making maps and charts. Of course, he had become part of most historical societies, local tours and even had a few Ufology books. Mum reckoned when he retired from town planning, it sort of found its way into other hobbies. That and Darren's dad loved X-Files and a good mystery.

"Son, there's summink out there," was one of the last things he'd said to Darren, before his illness had made his speech indecipherable.

Darren smiled and leafed through a few piles of paper. A map of the local area slipped out. He picked up the battered old thing and examined it. His father had written gibberish marks and lines all over it, but Darren did notice that many of the lines converged on a single point. Above this inky node was written very carefully the word "Hogwarts."

Maybe Darren had inherited his father's curiosity, or maybe he just like having something of his father's to hold onto right now; either way he pocketed this map, unaware of the future it would unlock for him…

To be continued…

Disclaimer:

The characters and setting are all thanks to J. K. Rowling. I claim no ownership of these characters, just the scenario. Big hugs.


	2. Old Ground

Old Ground

Darren couldn't focus at work. He talked to his boss and booked off a fortnight. The boss was understanding – and secretly was glad as he planned to lay off staff in three months time, so any ammunition gained now would facilitate his dastardly schemes. Darren was just glad to get out of the planning office. His father's death had preyed on his mind and the papers and the paper scraps in his pocket were endlessly distracting.

Within two days, he had camped himself inside a local bed & breakfast and had brought his bags of tools. For the first time he was glad his fiancee had left him. She had gotten fed up waiting for him to set the date and had left with Darren's best friend. Still, he reflected, the freedom to do what he wanted was his again! His only responsibility, his cat Sparkle (another of her ideas), had been left with his grieving mother.

Now it was raining hard. His architect tools and measurements were in place as he paced out the area as shown on the map. Never much of a nature lover, Darren did note that this place was bereft of wildlife. He had made several wet trips from his van in the nearby layby out into this wet grassy set of hills. It was the sort of weather that gave England a bad name. Still, the numbing coldness seemed apt and refreshing for the serious task ahead.

"What the hell am I doing here?" he asked, stepping back from his surveyor's tripod and looking down into the small dip between the wet hills. All his measurements seemed to triangulate nothing remarkable. No tumulus, rock, gate, path or building. Nothing.

Darren took out a drink and had a swig. Standing there pondering, he noted a big bird in the distance, gliding down low over the hills. It was only when it came closer that he saw it had big eyes and resembled a white owl. "Well, that's pretty." He though and watched the owl as it flew through the dip in the hills. It dipped below the nearest hill and Darren was disappointed that it did not come out again. "Perhaps its got a nest there?" he asked. "Is that what you brought me out here for?" Darren laughed as the realisation he had been talking to his dad dawned on him.

Shrugging, he tramped down the field to the small hills. "Ok, perhaps Bill Oddie or the RSPB can give me something for this." Absent-mindedly he fished out his old camera and slipped his was down to the small clearing.

It was a very small clearing, aproximately twenty feet across, flanked on all sides by small low hills. And nothing else, "Not a dickie bird" as his dad would say. And indeed there were no birds here at all.

Darren reasoned that he had scared the thing off and turned to leave when suddenly another owl screeched past his ear. In sheer surprise Darren slipped and sat down hard as he tried to turn to see what the noise was. He ached as he sat there staring up at the small brown owl zig-zagging away from him. But what really amazed him was the dull green ring in mid-air, about ten feet from the ground. Through it he saw a small circle of blue sky before it vanished.

"Hogwarts?" he gasped.

He sat there for a full thirty minutes before he got up, marked out the exact spot the window appeared and ran back to his van.

To be continued…

Disclaimer:

Dave says:- Argh! Am trying to get back into writing – it's been 3-4 years! Be nice!

The characters and setting are all thanks to J. K. Rowling. I claim no ownership of these characters, just the scenario. Big hugs.


	3. Backdoor

Backdoor.

Darren spent that afternoon drying off and buying a step-ladder. He called his mum and told her he loved her. She started fussing over him, complaining about his ex-fiancee and the long hours he was working. Darren made his excuses and ended the call.

The sun was setting when he returned to the site. The rain had stopped leaving only an endless grey sheet above him. Shadows were forming but it was fairly light.

He stood atop the aluminium step-ladder and waited.

The night fell and hours passed. He chanced getting off of the ladder a few times to stretch his legs. As he did so, three owls screeched above him and made through the gateway, beyond which there wire stars in the night sky.

Darren growled every expletive he knew and got back up his ladder.

Owls still hooted in the distance and soon Darren was rewarded when a large dark owl flew above his head and through the gateway ahead of him.

As it did so, he clambered up the last steps and jumped at the gateway – but just as it closed. Darren fell with a heavy wet thud into the darkness below. Around him he swore the owls were hooting more. Two more even took this opportunity to fly through the gateway while he struggled to his feet.

So it was an hour later that Darren sat perched, motionless on top of the ladder. He was struggling to stay awake now. He was roused by a large grey owl landing on his shoulder. It hooted at him so loudly that he almost fell off the ladder as the owl took off again and went through the gateway. Darren righted the ladder in time and with an almighty effort leapt at the gateway.

He fell through and onto hard dry stones. Both of his legs were strained from the jump and he ached all over with exhaustion and pain. None of that mattered. He had made it.

Tentively, he tried to stand up, but his calf muscles were aching like mad. Darren sat up and looked about himself. He noted that although he could see the starry sky from where he was, he could never see the ground. All around him, stony heathland stretched out under a moonlit sky. The heather was only a foot at most in places but it gave the sloping hills around an unearthly quality.

Darren checked his pocket for his camera and noted it was gone, probably dropped in the leap across. Above his head the gateway opened and a dozen owls flew through, screeching with what he suspected to be laughter. He muttered under is breath after them and watched them fly away together. That's when Darren saw the distant buildings. Towers and spires rose high beyond some forest at the bottom of the heathland hills ahead of him. It looked to be several miles away and quite large. Darren noticed lights in some of the windows and saw the disappearing owls making a line for them.

Looking around behind him, he saw the hills becoming larger and more erratic the further they go toward the horizon. He did not fancy the mountains in his state so shrugged and began to walk towards the lights.

After a long silent walk across the eerie landscape down the hillside, he realised the forest was bigger than he first thought. His legs still ached and Darren decided to push on, if only to get himself a decent walking stick. Tall dark silhouettes stood up against the dark night. He would not be able to see a thing in that lot, so Darren stopped a few hundred yards short and let himself rest. He lay back, staring into the heavens. Many years ago he had been the sort of boy who had enjoyed camping out and had joined the army cadets as a teenager. He had briefly being a boy scout but changed over to the army when he heard they got to play with guns rather than help old ladies across the road. Looking back he realised this wasn't strictly true. "What is eh?" he reminisced. He nodded off.

The sky was much lighten when he awoke again. There was a cold wetness of pre-dawn all around him and the forest looked a lot less formidable now.

Revitalised from his short nap he stood up and felt better. Darren was grinning like an idiot as he strode into the dark green forest. "I wonder if they've got bacon and eggs?" he called.

The greenery soon gave away to greys and browns of the forest. Darren considered the age of the trees and whistled to himself at some of the plants. Once or twice he thought he heard the rustling of animals around him, but knowing breakfast could not be more than an hour away and armed with a big sturdy stick he trudged onwards.

If only he had not started to whistle to keep up his spirits he might have gotten to Hogwarts unnoticed…

To be continued…

Disclaimer:

The characters and setting are all thanks to J. K. Rowling. I claim no ownership of these characters, just the scenario. Big hugs.


	4. Trespass

Trespass.

Darren ambled into the waking forest, full of excitement and wonder. He had not felt this alive in years. He was alone in a strange land with his whole future unclear and his past unrecoverable. He began whistling Nick Drake's "Saturday Sun" and felt somehow whole. Never a spiritual man, Darren did however concede that there were more things to be had in this world that could not be explained away by sense and science.

This reverie was broken when a large burly figure stepped out of the bracken across his path. "And what do we have here then, eh?" beamed a shaggy black-beareded giant.

Darren instinctively gripped his walking stick firmly and beamed back. "Howdy stranger. Nice forest you have here."

There seemed to be an awkward moment which swung between malice through mistrust then into manners.

"My name's Darren." He concluded, and extended his hand while keeping his other tightly on his weapon.

"O right. Hagrid. Please to meet you." Stumbled the giant as he approached Darren. They shook hands.

"An' what are you doing out here then Darren? Haven't seen you about before…"

"Just walking. I want to see what's up ahead."

"Oh do you now? And why's that then?"

"Just curious is all. That and I don't know how to get back."

Hagrid stopped to appraise his new companion. "Ooo, I see. Lost are ye?

"Stranded I think. I followed some owls and they took me here."

"Oh right, a twitcher are ye? Well, I expect someone back at the school can get you home again. Come on! Follow me!"

And that seemed to be that. Hagrid threw a foul-smelling sack over his shoulder and ambled off.

Darren had not realised the forest had been deceptively large and the walk back with Hagrid took another half an hour. During which Hagrid talked about a school and a headmaster.

"What kind of school would be right out here Hagrid?" asked Darren, trying to keep up.

"Ooh, well. I'm not sure I should be the one telling you about what goes on in there. Let's just say it's a special school for children with great gifts."

Darren hated his school days but had enjoyed being with children. He had spent sometime as an assistant caretaker at a secondary school shortly after leaving school himself. Although not great at his job, he found time to help lost children and upset teenagers. His mother had always hoped her son had gone into something worthwhile like th epolice force or even the church. Darren was unaware of such ambitions and had haplessly drifted into one job after another until his father had gotten him a place working with him, surveying land sites fo rhte council. Darren had to sit a few exams and study a few night courses, but it had paid off. Darren, if pushed, had always rather hoped to be a musician or something.

He snapped out of his daydreaming when the forest eventually gave way to the school grounds.

"Welcome," boomed Hagrid, "to Hogwarts Darren!"

It was still quite early and Darren was famished. There were no pupils about that he could see and Hagrid invited him into his ramshackle hut. Fang sat in the corner in his basket, wrapped in a blanket.

"Your dog?" asked Darren.

"Aye. That's fang. He's not much more go in him when he aint got a cold. Still he's loyal enough, aren't you boy!" and with that Hagrid went over to fuss over him and he put the half-full kettle back on the hearth.

There was a polite yet firm knock on the door.

To be continued…

Disclaimer:

The characters and setting are all thanks to J. K. Rowling. I claim no ownership of these characters, just the scenario. Big hugs.

Oh dear, this really should be moving a lot faster! Sorry!


End file.
